1. Field
A scroll compressor is disclosed herein.
2. Background
A scroll compressor is a compressor that utilizes a fixed scroll having a fixed wrap and an orbiting scroll that revolves with respect to the fixed scroll and having an orbiting wrap. That is, a scroll compressor is a compressor in which the fixed scroll and the orbiting scroll are engaged with each other to revolve, thereby reducing a volume of a compression chamber, which is formed between the fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll according to an orbiting motion of the orbiting scroll, and thus, increasing in pressure a fluid and discharging the fluid through a discharge hole formed in or at a central portion of the fixed scroll. Such a scroll compressor has a feature in which suction, compression, and discharge of a fluid are successively performed while the orbiting scroll revolves. Accordingly, a discharge valve and suction valve may be unnecessary in principle.
As a number of parts forming the scroll compressor is less in comparison to other types of compressors, the scroll compressor may be simplified in structure and rotate at a high speed. Also, as a variation in torque required for compression is less in comparison to other types of compressors, and suction and compression successively occur, a relatively small amount of noise and vibration may occur.
Behavior characteristics of the scroll compressor may be determined by shapes of the fixed wrap and the orbiting wrap. Each of the fixed wrap and the orbiting wrap may have a predetermined shape. Further, each of the fixed wrap and the orbiting wrap may have an involute curve having a uniform thickness. The involute curve may be a curve corresponding to a trajectory which is drawn by an end of a thread when the thread wound around a basic circle having a predetermined radius is unwound. The present applicant has filed for a patent application (hereinafter, referred to as a “related art”) with respect to a scroll compressor having an involution curve type wrap, Korean Application No. 10-2000-0074285, filed in Korea on Dec. 7, 2000 and entitled “Scroll Compressor”, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
If a wrap having the involute curve shape is used as in the related art, as each of the fixed wrap and the orbiting wrap has a uniform thickness, each of the fixed wrap and the orbiting wrap may have a uniform capacity variation. Thus, it may be difficult to obtain a high compression ratio.
Although a winding number of the fixed wrap or the orbiting wrap may be increased to obtain a high compression ratio, if the winding number of the fixed wrap or the orbiting wrap increases, the scroll compressor may also increase in size. Also, if the fixed wrap or the orbiting wrap increases in height, a ratio of height to thickness of the wrap may increase, reducing wrap strength, thereby deteriorating reliability.